Jam: Spotlight on Music Stars‘Lightning Is Kind of Striking Again’ for Maroon 5
Maroon 5 lead singer Adam Levine made headlines last weekend after he blasted MTV with a tweet saying, "The VMAs. One day a year when MTV pretends to still care about music. I'm drawing a line in the sand. F*** you VMAs.' Despite his aggression towards MTV, Levine and his bandmate, keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, were all smiles when omg! caught up with them to talk about their summer tour with Train, plans for their next album, and the new flavored tea -- "Tea Will Be Loved" -- they created with Snapple, which benefits Feeding America.
"It is nice to be in the position to help in whatever way we can," shares Levine, 32. "We teamed up with Snapple, made this amazing flavor, and we are going to wind up raising a lot of money for charity -- $250,000!"
But putting together the perfect flavors for their special beverage was no easy feat. "It was a crazy day at the Snapple factory!" laughs Carmichael. "Our memories are a bit hazy. We sampled a lot of juice and a lot of different punch."
"The Voice" mentor adds that creating the tea was "like being in the band. We just kind of jammed out on the flavor. I was hell bent on [using] hibiscus [in our creation]."
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When Maroon 5 isn't busy concocting new Snapple flavors (for the record, hibiscus did make the cut), they've been touring with Train to promote their latest album, Hands All Over.
"The stars are really aligning for us this summer," says Levine. "I think it is the most successful tour we've ever done. We've been a successful band for a long time, but [this] is one of those moments where lightning is kind of striking again; with the success of ['The Voice'] and we've got a single ['Moves Like Jagger'] that everyone loves right now. It's just one of those times when you realize you are happy at one place, and then all of a sudden it gets bigger and better. It is really exciting."
Indeed. Maroon 5 -- who is on the verge of celebrating 10 years in the music business -- does seem to be getting better with age and Hands All Over reflects that. "I think as we get older and we make more albums, they become less and less directly influenced by things, and more just stuff that comes right from us," explained Jesse.
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"Our first record had a theme, but this one [Hands All Over] is just so much more," Levine says. "We were in Switzerland [working on the album] and we all felt a little disconnected from reality. We were living in a fairytale world. It was just an inspiring place to be. I really love the record and I am really proud of it."
Of course, Maroon 5 is already looking ahead to their next album, which Levine promises will be entirely different from their first, Songs About Jane. "I feel like we wanted to do a lot and achieve a lot [with our first record], and we also wanted to maybe prove something, subconsciously. I think a huge part of making really great music is when you're not self-conscious about it," he notes. "Now I feel as though we are ready to be unafraid and just go for it. That is a really exciting feeling, because whenever you are unafraid and unselfconscious, the best things happen. And whenever you are not trying to do anything and you just go for it and do it -- it tends to be the best way."
While "Moves Like Jagger" -- Maroon 5's hit with Christina Aguilera -- is currently #1 on Billboard's Hot 100, Levine is already looking forward to collaborating with another one of his fellow judges on "The Voice." "I've always wanted to work with Cee Lo," he says. "That will happen eventually."
Check out the video for "Moves Like Jagger":
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